An article by Peter Burrows for BusinessWeek analyzes the recent problems with iPhone 3G reception, stating that "two well-placed sources tell BusinessWeek.com the glitches are related to a chip inside Apple's music-playing cell phone." This corroborates previous reports that the handset's Infineon 3G chip is the culprit. BusinessWeek adds that Apple "plans to remedy the problems through a software upgrade."

One source says the problem lies squarely with Infineon's technology, which is fairly new and untested in high volumes outside a lab setting. Not only is the iPhone shipping in much higher volumes than other handsets, it's also gobbling up far more 3G minutes as owners use it to surf the Web, watch YouTube (GOOG) videos, and utilize other bandwidth-hogging services.

To date I've had no problems with 3G coverage on my iPhone but I haven't used it extensively due to lack of coverage in my area. I am, however, happy to report that a brand-spankin-new AT&T 3G cell site just went live about two miles from my house and it's helped greatly with coverage in and around my house.

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.
He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging....
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Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage: Amazon Associates and Google Adsense. Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.